1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector device, and, more particularly, to improvements in a connector device having a lock screw for maintaining the connection of male and female connectors which are connected to each other, an interface module using the connector device, and an adapter for changing the number of cores of a connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when a peripheral device (such as a printer, a storage device, or a display device) is connected to, for example, a computer or a communications apparatus, a connector device having a plurality of connecting elements is used. For example, as shown in FIG. 6A, a female connector 102 having a plurality of female connecting elements 102a used for inputting and outputting signals is provided on, for example, the back surface of an apparatus 100 such as a computer. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, a connector device 106 is provided on an end of a cable 104 which extends from, for example, the peripheral device. A male connector 108 having male connecting elements 108a which engage the female connecting elements 102a is provided on an end of the connector device 106. In general, to reliably and stably connect the female connector 102 and the male connector 108, lock screws are provided on the apparatus 100 and the connector device 106, respectively. Usually, lock female screws (that is, female screws on which a locking operation is carried out) are provided on the apparatus 100 (that is, at the side of the connector to which a connection is made), whereas lock male screws 112 are provided on the connector device 106. The lock male screws 112 freely advance and retreat in the directions of double-headed arrows A with respect to a connector housing 114. As shown in FIG. 6C, with the female connector 102 and the male connector 108 being connected to each other, by rotating the lock male screws 112 and screwing them into their corresponding lock female screws 110, the connection between the female connector 102 and the male connector 108 is maintained. Similarly, when an interface module is connected to the apparatus 100, the interface module is provided as follows. A male connector 108 having a structure which is similar to that of the connector device 106 is provided at the end of the interface module which is connected to the apparatus 100, while, for example, a connector having a different configuration is provided at the other end.
The connector device 106 described above can be connected to any apparatus as long as the apparatus has a female connector 102 which connects to the male connector 108 of the connector device 106. By using the lock screws, a faulty connection is easily and reliably prevented (that is, signal communication failure) between the female connector 102 and the male connector 108, and the female connector 102 and the male connector 108 can easily be separated from each other when connection needs to be made to a different device. A connector having a shape similar to the letter D, such as that shown in FIG. 6B, is called a D-Sub connector and is often used in computers.
However, depending on the type of apparatus to which the connector device is connected, the apparatus may have a female connector or a male connector. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a special-purpose connector device having a connector having a configuration that corresponds to the connector of the apparatus. In other words, it is necessary to provide a connector device having a male connector when the apparatus has a female connector, whereas it is necessary to provide a connector device having a female connector when the apparatus has a male connector. However, often the connector device is fixedly provided on a cable led out from a peripheral device or the connector device is integrally provided with, for example, an interface module. Therefore, when the male/female configuration of the connector arbitrarily changes depending on the apparatus, the configuration of the connector of the apparatus may be the same as the configuration of the connector of the connector device, thereby making it impossible to connect the connectors together.
In general, peripheral devices and interfaces are often continually used even when the apparatus, such as a computer, is changed, so that providing a special-purpose connector according to the type of apparatus is not economically reasonable. In such a case, the use of the following simple mechanism may be considered. Here, a low-cost changing cable which changes the male/female configuration of the connector (that is, for example, a cable having a lock male screw and a connector of the same shape at each end thereof) is used to change the configuration of the connector of the apparatus to correspond to the configuration of the connector of the peripheral device, whereby the apparatus and the connector device are connected together. However, lock male screws are provided on the changing cable and the connector of the peripheral device, such that the lock screws cannot be used during the connecting operation. Therefore, even if the male and female connectors are connected through, for example, a cable, the connection of the male and female connectors is not guaranteed, thereby resulting in the problem that the reliability of the connection is reduced.
To overcome the above-described problems with the prior art, preferred embodiments of the present invention provide a highly reliable, versatile connector device which does not require a special-purpose component even when the configuration of a connector to which a connection is made (that is, the connector of an apparatus) is arbitrarily selected from a male and a female configuration, and which makes it possible to use a lock screw for connecting male and female connectors together even when it is not possible to use the lock screw to firmly secure the connector device to the connector of the apparatus.
To this end, according a first preferred embodiment of the present invention, a connector device is uniquely constructed to allow maintenance of a connection of a female connector and a male connector with each other. The connector device includes a lock male screw, and a mounting opening. The lock male screw is screwable to a lock female screw, on which a locking operation is carried out, of a connector side to which a connection is made. The mounting opening is used for inserting the lock male screw therein, and allows the lock male screw to move between a screwed position and a non-screwed position. A lock female screw which is screwable to a lock male screw, on which a locking operation is carried out, of the connector side to which a connection is made is mountable to the mounting opening.
According to a second preferred embodiment of the present invention, a connector device is uniquely constructed to allow connection of a female connector to a male connector. The connector device includes a lock male screw, a mounting opening, and a lock female screw. The lock male screw is screwable to a lock female screw, on which a locking operation is carried out, of a connector side to which a connection is made. The mounting opening allows insertion of the lock male screw therein, and allows the lock male screw to move between a screwed position and a non-screwed position. The lock female screw is mountable to the mounting opening when the lock male screw is retracted in the non-screwed position. The lock female screw is screwable to a lock male screw, on which a locking operation is carried out, of the connector side to which a connection is made.
Here, the connector side to which a connection is made refers to an apparatus, such as a computer, or a cable having a connector which is connected to the apparatus. The mounting opening has a diameter which is greater than the diameter of the lock male screw in order not to prevent movement of the lock male screw. A lock female screw on which a locking operation is carried out is preferably located at the wall surface of the connector side to which a connection is made.
With this structure, when the configuration of the connector on the connector side to which a connection is made and the configuration of the connector device are different, by making the lock male screw protrude from the mounting opening, and screwing it to the female screw on which a locking operation is carried out, firm connection of the female and male connectors with each other is maintained. When the configuration of the connector of the connector side to which a connection is made and the configuration of the connector device are the same, a cable having a connector which is different from that of the connector device and a lock male screw at each end thereof is, for example, used in order to connect the connector device and the male/female connector of the cable. At this time, after making the lock male screw retreat from the mounting opening of the connector device, the lock female screw is mounted to the mounting opening, and screwed to the lock male screw of the cable in order to maintain secure connection between the male connector and female connector. By connecting the female and male connectors of the connector side to which a connection is made and those of the cable, and by screwing the lock female screw, on which a locking operation is carried out, of the connector side to which a connection is made and the lock male screw of the cable, firm connection of the male and female connectors is maintained. As a result, the male/female form of the connector of the connector side to which a connection is made is changed. Therefore, even if, in order to connect the connector and the connector device, it is not possible to connect the lock male screw, the use of the lock female screw makes it possible to maintain the secure connection of the female connector to the male connector. Consequently, it is possible to achieve more reliable connection of the connector device and to make the connector device more versatile.
In one aspect of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention, a connecting internally threaded portion having a larger diameter than the lock male screw is provided at an inner wall of the mounting opening, and a threaded portion which is screwable to the connecting internally threaded portion is provided at an outer periphery of the lock female screw.
With this structure, when the lock female screw is screwed, it can be firmly and easily mounted to the mounting opening. In accordance with the configuration of the lock screw, the configuration of the lock screw of the connector device is easily changed.
In another aspect of the second preferred of the present invention, a first engaging portion for securing the lock female screw is provided at an inner wall of the mounting opening, and a second engaging portion for engagement with the first engaging portion is provided at an outer periphery of the lock female screw.
Here, the first and second engaging portions have, for example, key structures which prevent the rotation of the lock female screw or plunger structures which prevent it from falling off. According to these structures, the lock female screw is firmly and easily mounted to the mounting opening, such that the configuration of the lock screw of the connector can be easily changed in accordance with the configuration of the lock screw of to the device to which the connector is connected.
To achieve the above-described advantages, according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, the connector device having any one of the above-described structures is used in an interface module or an adapter for changing the number of cores of a connector. According to this structure, the interface module and the adapter for changing the number of cores of a connector are made more versatile, making it possible to achieve more reliable connection.
Other features, characteristics, elements and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings.